Elections: Police IG Adamu assures of adequate security arrangement

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of adequate security arrangements for the 2019 general elections.

According to a statement by the spokesperson of the INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Mr Adamu gave the assurance while briefing the commission’s members at the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting on Thursday.

The meeting held at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

The police chief said each polling unit and voting point will be manned by at least three security personnel with the police taking the lead.

He said units of mobile police officers will be deployed to patrol all the country’s senatorial districts, to check unauthorised movements and potential troublemakers.

He also assured that collation centres across the country, from the ward to state levels, will be adequately protected.

He went further to give details on how each polling both will be manned. He say,

“There will be at least three security personnel at each polling unit. Units of mobile policemen will be deployed to every senatorial district, where there will be constant patrols to check unauthorized movements and those who might want to cause trouble.”

He went further to say that they have gone around the country to conduct threat assessment.

According to him as the issue of security has been a very big concern as the general election draws near, they are well prepared to handle it adequately.

The U.S. embassy and European Union delegates who visited the commission a week ago expressed concern on the neutrality of the security services.

The Police IG said deployment of security personnel will be three days before the election and they will remain two days after the election.

He said all security personnel will remain behind after voting has taken place to ensure election officials and materials are safely moved from one collation centre to another.

According to Mr. Adamu, the Federal Government has provided the police with the required resources to carry out its duties during the elections.

“The (federal) government has already paid the allowances of the personnel and every policeman will get his allowance before he moves to the field. The government has also provided us with the means of getting transportation,” he said.

Giving an insight into how the police designed the security strategy for the election, he said they carried out threat assessment and the pattern of deployment will be informed by the result of the threat assessments.

He also told the INEC chairman that the police already carried out a series of in-house training, based on the Rules of Engagement designed by INEC amongst other training.

The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, welcomed the Police Chief’s willingness to partner with the commission for the successful conduct of the polls.

Participants at the meeting include National Commissioners, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammed Babandede, and Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi.